Where the Dream Ends
by thecornerealm
Summary: Does destiny become fate the moment you pull that trigger? Or does fate become destiny the instant when we finally pay the heavy price for our sins? And so, maybe, this is where the dream ends and reality begins. Russia/China. Sweden/Denmark - Mafia AU


**Author Notes:**

Originally, this was written for a prompt on the Hetalia Kink Meme, way back in September/October 2009. But I got distracted soon after starting.

Since, I'm aiming to finish something remotely multi-chapter as a New Year's resolution, I restarted this xD; Hopefully, it'll be done sometime this lifetime *_*; That said. Updates will be relatively slow as I slowly battle my way through the rest of this verse.

After much dithering and because of the growing cast list, I've decided to split this verse into two separate sides, Millennium and Requiem.

Main pairing for Millennium side is: Russia/China. Requiem side will feature Sweden/Denmark.

Side pairings that will pop up _possibly_ include: France/England, Prussia/Austria, Germany/Italy, Spain/Romano, Greece/Japan, Cuba/Canada and Australia/America.

Ahahaha =D;; Here we go!

* * *

Where the Dream Ends

_MILLENNIUM 1.0_

* * *

He could see his breath puffing out before him in the cold, midnight air.

Running as fast as he could, Xiang still wondered if he was going to be fast enough. He skidded to an undignified halt before the three men he had sent on surveillance duty and his implacable gaze asked for an update.

"They're ahead, sir! The target was seen turning into that alley." The leader of the three nodded towards the aforementioned alleyway.

Pulling his gun from its customary holster beneath his cleverly cut suit, Xiang moved forward quietly, not wanting to startle his target and trigger unnecessary violence. His brother wanted the target alive and able to talk.

Just as he was about to peer around the dark, dank corner, a gun went off.

Starting, Xiang jumped forward, directly into the alleyway, weapon cocked before him.

A second and third shot followed each other quickly and he clenched his teeth, trying to shake the sudden loud noise off.

As his sight adapted to the dimly lit alley and became able to make out more than shadows, Xiang felt a bubble of outrage rise slowly.

A head turned his way and a distinctly wolfish smile was directed towards him, visible barely from where he stood. The other live presence in the alley carelessly threw the gun he had been holding into the nearest trash bin.

Xiang didn't lower his weapon, knowing the other man was dangerous, weapon or no weapon.

The other man strode forward, peeling one leather glove off and holding out that hand to Xiang. "Fancy seeing you here, Xiang. I would have thought you'd be at home watching over your brother."

Xiang didn't even need any light to know that the violet eyes watching him with a now friendly smile was amused and smug. He didn't bother with either a reply or the lowering of his weapon, keeping it aimed at the much taller man.

The large hand withdrew, what could be seen of the other man's expression showed nothing but goodwill. "A good night's work, da?"

At his, Xiang couldn't help but scowl harder and bite out a reply, "He was _our_ target."

"I know." Those simple words roused an unquenchable fury inside the smaller man.

"But you went and killed him anyway."

Large shoulders moved in something like a shrug, the pale scarf fluttering briefly in the breeze. "Just doing your brother a favour."

"We needed him alive!" Despite the anger saturating his tone, Xiang's hand was as steady as ever, moving the aim of his weapon up to the taller man's forehead. "Give me _one_ reason why I shouldn't just kill you now."

There was no fear in those shadowed violet eyes, only a childish delight. It was almost as if he was being presented with an unexpected fun puzzle. The low chuckle held only amusement as he stared down the barrel of the imported .45. "Why, your brother would be sad of course!"

Fearing his teeth would shatter if he clenched them any tighter; Xiang clicked his safety back on and shoved his weapon back into his jacket. He turned and stalked away, deliberately turning his back on the other man.

Just before he left, Xiang shot a deadly glare at the man still standing calmly at the entrance to the alley, completely uncaring of the dark, coppery liquid that was slowly seeping towards his boots.

"Remember this well, Ivan Braginsky. It. Isn't. Over."

Xiang left as fast as he could to report back to his brother, ignoring the taunting laughter that drifted from the alley to follow him.

* * *

Yao watched the dim light of the lamp glint off the edge of the sleek dagger he held. He weighed it carefully in one hand and admired the delicately etched patterns on the naked blade itself.

"_Da-ge_, Xiang has returned."

The quiet feminine voice just outside his open door roused him and his fingers stopped. Yao leaned back in his chair, the smell of expensive leather permeating his senses. He shuttered his eyes for a brief moment, tapping the hilt of the dagger against the edge of the table before sheathing it and placing it next to his tea cup."Tell him to come in, Tai."

Tai inclined her head in respect and went off to carry out her brother's command. Yao stretched his legs under the heavy wooden desk and flicked through the sheaf of papers lying on top, glancing through a page here and there and making the odd notation in other places.

Xiang walked in only seconds after Tai disappeared, proving that he was either in a hurry or hovering just out of sight.

Perhaps a bit of both, Yao concluded, taking in the flushed appearance of normally pale skin and the slightly jerking gait of the younger man's walk which could only be contributed to anger or nervousness. As he shuffled his papers and put them aside, he wondered briefly which one it was.

"Report." The knife was again dancing in Yao's fingers.

Xiang stopped in the middle of the room, taking a moment to gather himself before speaking, his eyes fixed on the sharp glint of the weapon edge. "Target has been eliminated."

There was a barely perceptible pause in the motion of the sharp object in Yao's hands but Xiang caught it nevertheless. His next words were slowly, carefully dropped into the expectant silence. "Ivan Braginsky shot him."

This time, the pause was permanent as Xiang found Yao's golden eyes fixed on him for the first time since he stepped into the room.

"Braginsky." The name was drawled out, the older man almost savouring the feeling of the foreign but familiar name on his tongue.

Xiang clenched his fists and bit back the angry words he so desperately wanted to say.

"You may go."

His head shot up at that and the words that lurked at the front of his mind came tumbling out without prior processing. "What? You're going to let this go just like that? It's two months of work down the drain and…"

"Xiang."

He shut up immediately at that cold tone cutting across his words and glanced up nervously at his older brother. Any warmth from before was now replaced with hard, cold ice, frozen gold watched him from beneath long, dark bangs.

Xiang bowed immediately. "I apologize, _Da-ge_."

"You may go."

There was no room to argue with that. Xiang bowed again, stiffly, and backed out of the room.

As soon as he was out of both sight and earshot he let out a flurry of curses.

"That bad?"

Whirling around, Xiang almost reached for his weapon before he realized that he was at home and was face to face with none other than Tai.

She raised a delicate eyebrow and swept her dark brown hair over her shoulder. "So on edge tonight, _Ge-ge_."

"Don't call me that." He snapped back and continued down the hallway towards his own study.

To his surprise, she followed, matching him step for step, expression settling into a more businesslike one. "What happened, Xiang?"

His normally expressionless face twisted into a snarl. "Ivan Braginsky did."

Tai's serious expression grew darker. "I don't like him."

A snort. "Who does?"

There was a moment of silence where they each dared the other to give the very obvious answer to the question out loud.

Xiang sighed, letting go of the tension in his shoulders, steps slowing down slightly. "He's interfering way too much in our territory just because _Da-ge_ is willing to turn a blind eye to _everything_."

"He's a threat." Tai's words were a hiss. She didn't like the big Russian anymore than Xiang did, but their reasons for that might have been slightly different.

At that, Xiang stopped completely, glancing back at her. "You're a threat. Don't think I don't know what you've been doing behind everyone's back. Don't think _Da-ge_ doesn't know either."

She froze, her hazel eyes furious. He gave her a humourless upward turn of his lips, a parody of a smile. "Kiku only puts up with you because you're useful to him."

Tai's eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Then you shouldn't expect people to not know about you and that Western pirate."

With that retort, she turned and stalked off.

Xiang stared at her rapidly vanishing back for a moment.

Perhaps none of them were to be trusted. Not even with themselves.

* * *

The apartment hotel that Ivan Braginsky chose for his somewhat long stay in this area was in a deceptively quiet section of the city.

He hummed softly under his breath as he stepped through the quiet foyer, shoes making almost no sound on the tiled floor. The manager on night duty looked up at the sound of footsteps and nodded in recognition when he saw the tall Russian.

Ivan inclined his head slightly in response, not pausing on his way to the elevators. Stopping before them, he pressed the button and waited.

The slight vibration in his pocket alerted him to an incoming call.

Glancing at the caller ID, a small smile appeared, his violet eyes lightening in something akin to pleasure. "_Zdravstvulte_, Yao."

The man on the other end of the line said something to make the smile grow wider. Ivan chuckled, a low sound, as the elevator dinged and opened its doors for him. "Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?"

Then without waiting for Yao to reply, he ploughed on. "I want to see you."

There was silence for a moment and an audible sigh could be heard. Yao said something quietly and Ivan's smiled dimmed just a bit before both sides hung up without a 'goodbye'.

He stared at his reflection for a moment in the mirrored expanse of the elevator, watching the numbers light up as it passed each floor.

As it hit his floor, the polished doors opened with a whisper. As he stepped out, Ivan wasn't surprised to find another pair of shoes falling into step beside him. "Up so late, Natalia?"

The beautiful young woman tossed her head of silver-blonde hair, flicking the strands back over her shoulder. "Just waiting for you, brother."

The smile he sent her was half amused and half warning, as he fiddled with the door to his room. "You shouldn't have."

Natalia took the gentle rebuke expressionlessly. "You said you would be back for dinner and you didn't call."

With a click, the door swung open, Ivan strode inside, turning to look at his 'sister' with a warning glint in his eyes. "I answer to no one, Natalia. It'll do you good to remember that."

With those parting words, he shut the door firmly in her face.

Natalia spent a moment longer staring at the closed door before spinning around and heading towards her own room, a faintly displeased look in her doll blue eyes.

* * *

Yao sighed again as he hung up his phone. He should have known calling Ivan would lead him nowhere.

He tilted his head to one side, leaning his weight on one hand, elbow pressed against his desk.

The light glinted off the clear bottle of liquid that sat innocently on his table. Yao watched it for a moment, mesmerized by the way the liquid swirled inside the bottle and refracted the light passing through it into a thousand crystal shards.

This particular bottle of vodka had been a gift from Ivan. Yao had never tasted it, just left it standing on his desk, in a very obvious position. While he enjoyed alcohol, especially traditional wines from China, vodka wasn't a drink of choice. However, he delighted in leaving the bottle in its place, where Xiang and Tai were guaranteed to glare at it whenever they came into his office. It was one constant source of amusement for Yao.

With a soft sigh, he reached out and tapped the bottle gently, listening to the gentle _ding_ from the glass. "Ivan. What am I going to do with you?"

_TBC_

* * *

**Story Notes:**

= Hong Kong's human name, Xiang, is derived from the Mandarin pronunciation of the 香 in "香港" (Hong Kong)

= I'm sorry for HK's characterization (OOC much?). I know he's usually made out to be a quiet one, rarely speaking and always polite, but his role in this story requires him to be more outspoken.

= Da-ge (大哥) is both 'older brother' (meaning the eldest) and a form of address to a Triad or gang leader in China. (I think :D;)

= Ge-ge (哥哥) is just a simple 'older brother'.

= I decided that since Xiang was derived from the first character of Hong Kong, I'd follow example and let Tai be named after the first character of 台湾 (Taiwan)

= Originally, I was going to have Natalia refer to Ivan as 'брат' [Russian for brother] since I have Xiang and Tai calling Yao 'Da-ge'. But the Romanization for that was 'brat' so um. Yeah. I gave up on that.

= No idea how Russians answer the phone, but I shoved a 'Zdravstvulte' there anyway. It's a slightly formal way of saying 'Hello'. (Or so Google tells me =3)

Please leave a review or comment or suggestions if you so feel inclined \o/


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